The return of the student body after the New Year was a jarring transition. The quiet, contemplative solitude I had enjoyed was shattered, replaced by the familiar chaos of castle life. The Chamber of Secrets was sealed once more, its mysteries temporarily set aside. The Mirror of Erised was hidden away in its new, unknown location. My focus returned to the mundane: classes, exams, and the intricate, ongoing game of managing my reputation.
My new skill,[Desire's Reflection], was a tool of astonishing subtlety. I practiced it in secret, honing my ability to project fleeting, almost subliminal images into the minds of my fellow students. A flash of a perfect exam score for a struggling Ravenclaw, a vision of a Quidditch trophy for a boastful Hufflepuff. It was a delicate art, a form of mental manipulation that was far more elegant than the brutish Imperius Curse. It allowed me to subtly influence those around me, building goodwill and reinforcing my image as an empathetic and understanding leader.
But my true focus remained on accumulating power. And a new, unexpected opportunity soon presented itself.
It came from an unlikely source: Rubeus Hagrid, the half-giant gamekeeper.
I had always kept my distance from Hagrid. He was fiercely loyal to Dumbledore and unwaveringly devoted to Harry. In my strategic calculations, he was a piece on the board that belonged firmly to the other side. But one afternoon, while returning from a clandestine herb-gathering trip into the Forbidden Forest (a far more efficient way to source potion ingredients than buying them), I saw something that changed my assessment.
Through the grimy window of his small, wooden hut, I saw the unmistakable orange glow of a roaring fire. In the dead of winter, this was not unusual. What was unusual was the object nestled amongst the flames. It was a large, ovoid stone, black as charcoal and covered in a network of deep cracks that pulsed with an inner heat.
It was a dragon's egg. A Norwegian Ridgeback egg, if my memory of the bestiary texts was correct.
My mind raced. I knew this event from the original timeline. Hagrid, with his misguided love for all dangerous creatures, was illegally hatching a dragon. This would lead to a series of chaotic events, culminating in Malfoy getting detention and stumbling upon Voldemort in the forest.
The original Tom Riddle would have seen this as an opportunity to expose Hagrid and get a rival student in trouble. I saw something far more valuable.
A dragon.
A creature of immense magical power. A living, breathing source of some of the most potent alchemical and wand-making components in the world. Its heartstring, its blood, its scales—all were ingredients of legendary rarity and power.
And my SSS-Rank talent had an interesting, untested clause: 'You do not have a summon limit. Your army is bound only by your will and your mana.' It did not specify that my army had to be composed of humanoid undead.
//SYSTEM QUERY: Can the [Endless Army] talent be used on non-humanoid magical creatures?// //RESPONSE: Yes. The higher the magical resistance and raw power of the creature, the higher the initial mana cost for resurrection and control.//
A new, audacious plan began to form in my mind. Why settle for an army of skeletons and zombies when I could command something far greater? An undead dragon... a Dracolich. The thought was intoxicating.
But to achieve that, I needed access to the dragon. I needed to be there when things inevitably went wrong for Hagrid. I needed to earn his trust.
I approached the hut and knocked on the massive wooden door.
Hagrid opened it, looking surprised to see me. "Riddle? What're yeh doin' out here?"
"Professor Snape sent me, Hagrid," I said, my voice polite and respectful. "He requires a fresh supply of Flobberworm mucus for his third-year students. He said you kept the school's stock."
It was a plausible lie. Hagrid, simple and good-natured, accepted it without question. "O' course, o' course! Come on in, don't stand out in the cold."
I stepped into the sweltering heat of the hut. The dragon egg was now rocking violently in the fire. I feigned ignorance. "That's a fascinating stone you have in your fire, Hagrid. Is it a type of magical incubator?"
Hagrid's face went pale. "Oh, that! It's... er... nothin' special. Just a... a rock."
"A rock that's about to hatch," I said calmly, pointing at the egg as a large crack split down its side.
There was no more point in deception. Hagrid, seeing that I knew, confessed everything. He had won the egg in a card game from a mysterious, hooded stranger in the Hog's Head. He had always wanted a dragon of his own.
Instead of judging him, I listened. I offered him my knowledge from the bestiaries, explaining the specific needs of a Norwegian Ridgeback. I praised his nurturing spirit. I used[Desire's Reflection]subtly, projecting a faint image of himself as a great magizoologist, surrounded by his beloved, fearsome creatures.
I was forging a new, unlikely alliance.
When the egg finally hatched, and the small, ugly, bat-like creature that was Norbert emerged, I was there. I was there to help Hagrid feed it, to help him clean up its messes, and to help him deal with its increasingly dangerous, fire-breathing tendencies.
My System panel lit up with a notification I had been working towards for weeks.
[You have established a relationship of [Trust (Tier 1)] with Rubeus Hagrid.] [New Questline Unlocked: The Dragon's Keeper]
I now had an inside track to the most powerful magical creature to set foot in Hogwarts in fifty years. The pieces were moving into place. Malfoy would inevitably discover the dragon. The chaos would ensue. And when it did, I would be there, waiting in the shadows, ready to claim my prize.